Chicago Cubs 2016: Top moments from the season
October: The playoffs become the Baez show
In October, the regular season finished, and the real season began for the Chicago Cubs. This is something they looked forward to since they lost to the New York Mets in the 2015 NLCS. They felt the pain of losing again, and they wanted to change that. They wanted to get rid of the stupid goat.
Javier Baez stole the show in the playoffs. Whether it was on offense, defense or on the base paths, he did everything in his power to bring Chicago that elusive World Series title.
First, Baez started his show against the San Francisco Giants. He took off right from the beginning. In Game 1, he hit the game-winning home run in the eighth inning of a scoreless tie. His home run was the only scoring of the game. From there he just kept on hitting, and made some dazzling defensive plays.
In the NLDS, Baez hit .375/.412/.563. The Cubs dispatched the Giants in four games to move onto the NLCS. In that deciding Game 4, the Cubs rallied from being down 5-2 in the ninth inning. Baez got the go-ahead single in that inning.
In the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baez continued his show. He hit .318/.333/.500 and continued his dazzling defensive plays. Even when he made a mistake it turned out well for him and the Cubs. In Game 1, he took too long of a lead-off at third. The catcher threw to third, and it looked as if Baez was a dead duck. Instead, he ran towards home plate, and ended up beating the throw for a stolen base. Even Joe Maddon, who was upset at the mistake, had to smile at the result.
The Cubs eventually beat the Dodgers 4-2 in the series to move oto their first World Series since 1945.
Baez was co-MVP of the NLCS along with Jon Lester.
It was great to see Baez succeed with the Chicago Cubs. Over the past couple of years, he’s had some rough moments. He lost his sister in 2015, and he dealt with injuries and holes in his swing. He was also the subject of many trade rumors. The Cubs decided to keep him, however, and it was the best move they made.